Page 83 - SocialHarmony

O that I might have a House of My Own! 87

The Poor are Always Hardworking

A poor man can earn his daily bread by his hard work, but
he is always worried about a shelter. His life does not change
until and unless he has a roof above his head. Once he has a
decent house, he will think about other amenities. Once he
possesses a house, his entire financial planning will change.
Instead of earning hand-to-mouth, he will think about his future,
the health and education of his children and his own social
standing. Until he has his own house, he will hesitate to invite
his relatives to visit him, worried about what they will think
about him if they see him living in a shanty. Just the acquisition
of a house brings about massive changes in his life. We have
pledged to fulfil the dreams of all those who wish to own a
house. This dream is shared by the entire state. Under the Garib
Samriddhi Yojna, we are determined to provide reasonably-
sized houses with two rooms and a kitchen to the poor people.
This will of course increase the outlay, but we want to give good
quality houses that will satisfy the recipients. In the past eight
months, we have been able to construct 4000 strong and sturdy
houses in Karnavati using Canadian technology. Our target is
to build one lakh houses within one year using this technology.
I am fortunate to have a team behind me which has the capability
to convert my dream into a reality. My 5.5 lakh colleagues are
working hard on this project, and this enables us to march ahead
with our heads held high.

In the sixty years since independence, only 75 thousand
houses had been built. Our government is racing ahead with a
target of one lakh houses across 161 nagarpalikas and seven
mahanagarpalikas. This is one of my most ambitious dreams.

The First Right should go to the Poor

In addition to completing one lakh houses in one year, my
other dream is to complete three lakh houses by 2010, the year
of ‘Swarnim Gujarat’. People often ask me how I plan to raise
funds for this mammoth task. My answer is that the funds will
come from the people of Gujarat – every paisa of the tax-payer’s
money will be used for the welfare of the state, especially the